


Breaking free

by MysticallyGallavich



Series: Gallavich-Week [4]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Family, GW2016, Love, M/M, busting out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 18:46:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7543813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticallyGallavich/pseuds/MysticallyGallavich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mickey has broken out of jail, and Ian is acting weird. Are the two things connected?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breaking free

Gallavich week: July 20th – busting out-

“What has you so nervous?” Caleb asks Ian as he sits across from him at work. Ian just shrugs not answering the question.

“Nothing. What do you want?” Ian bites. He doesn't have time for this.

“Fuck you, Ian. You look distracted, I was just checking on you. Am I not allowed to do that? You've been acting weird since before we broke up and now…you're  just shifty.”

“Nothing is going on. Just don't feel like being harassed.” He says getting up and stomping off. He should feel bad. He should but doesn't. He's waiting for something, and he doesn't need Caleb distracting him. Then it comes, the officers stroll into his job, and he sighs. Here it goes.

“Ian Gallagher?” The officer asks looking at the men.

“Yes?” He answers curiously. It's fake curiosity. But what the hell, he can act with the best of them.

“Have you heard from Mickey Milkovich?” The officer asks.

“Your ex?” Caleb pipes in and Ian rolls his eyes.

“Um…how recently? He called a few months ago to check on his son and his sister. Since I keep in touch with them. Believe I visited to give him an update shortly after. Is he okay?!” Ian says making his voice sound full of worry at the end. It was true, he had received a call from Mickey asking him to check on Yev and Mandy. He had also gone to visit and told him as much as he knew. He had also told his ex that he missed him and loved him and how sorry he was, but who the fuck cared? And while it was true he hadn't heard from Mickey himself since then, he already knew what was coming next. Thanks to Mandy, showing up at his door, at three in the morning.

“He's fine I'm sure. There was a security failure at the prison and he is among the missing prisoners.” The officer says and Ian fakes shock. Hoping Caleb doesn't make this worse.

“You lost him?” Ian asks. “How exactly do you misplace a loud ass, thug such as that man?” Ian asks.

“We didn't lose him, he escaped. So you haven't heard from him?” Ian shakes his head.

“Last Milkovich I talked to was Mandy. Does she know? She didn't say anything.”

“There are officers going to talk to the family right now. If you hear from him or see him, contact us immediately. I do not have to tell you the consequences for harboring a fugitive, Mr.Gallagher.” Ian just nods as they start to walk away.

“You went to see him!?! This why you've been acting weird, got him hidden away somewhere.” And of course, the officers stop not turning around, trying to seem like they weren't paying attention.

“And where would I be hiding him, Caleb? My sisters' house? Where I am living. Like she wouldn't notice Mickey hanging around? You really think he'd call me if he was on the run? He isn't exactly my biggest fan.” Ian rolls his eyes.

“He called you before. You just said so.”

“Yeah to check on Yev who lives next door, and to ask about his sister who whether you like it or not is my best friend. I didn't break up with you for Mickey. I broke up with you because you’re an asshole. If you'll excuse me, I have to call my best friend and see how she is. Her brother is missing, she'll be worried sick.” He says, stomping off, not looking at the officers.

\--

Ian shows up to the old Milkovich house in time to see Mandy, crying on the porch as the officer's talk. One trying to calm her down. The Milkovich brothers behind her, arms crossed. God Ian misses this family.

“Mandy…I just heard.” Ian says playing his part and she sniffs and nods.

“He…where could he be Ian. He had no one.” She says as Ian bypasses the officers and wraps his arms around his best friend.

“Shh. They'll find him.” He says and the officer just looks at them. “You will right? You'll bring him home safe? He could be scared. Someone could have taken him. He wouldn't run like this. He wouldn't.” He says the fake tear falling down his face and he looks at one of the officers who looks at him sympathetically. And the other just glares.

“If you hear from him…”

“We know, we got it, call you or else. Whatever man.” Colin says.

\--

They all sit in silence for a while, unsure of what to say or do.

“Can't believe he did this shit.” Mandy finally says. “If they find him…”

  
“They won't. He's smart Mands. He's got this.”

“Yeah. How are you sure? We can't…they're gonna keep sniffing around until they find him. And then what? We're all fucked.”

“Calm down. It's fine. They'll stop looking for him, soon.” Colin says confidently. Ian knows he has a plan.

\--

They all sit on their hands for weeks. Playing the worried, doting family and then it comes. The officers show up for the final time and Ian knows it is because this time they inform them that Mickey Milkovich had been found…dead.

They all break down, Mandy crying violently into Ian's arms until the police leave. They hold a funeral and tell stories of Mickey and then all of them pack their shit, a few weeks later and head out, to the country, to an old house that from the outside looks abandoned. Mandy nods to Ian and he walks in alone. To the house he owns, the house he bought for himself and Mickey, a house that he hadn't been in, in over a year because it hurts to think of Mickey never being there with him.

The man on the chair looks up seeing him and smiles. “Took you long enough asshole,” Mickey says.

“Well excuse me for having to plan a funeral and morn, my dead ex-boyfriend. Dickhead. What were you thinking?!” Ian says. The first time he is looking into those eyes without prison glass separating them.

“Truth? Wasn't…shit went down and I got the hell out of there and called Mandy as soon as I got a burner phone. To tell her I had to get gone or whatever. She told me to lay low and call her in a few days. That I owed the family a goodbye if I was gonna disappear.

“That what this is? Goodbye?”

“Well, I didn't know at the time that you had this house out here. When did you get this?” Mickey waves his hand around motioning at the house they were currently in.

“While back. After a talk with my therapist about my future dreams. Was gonna fix it up and give it to you and Yev.”

“You bought a house for me and my son? Why? You broke up with me, remember?” Mickey says more curiously than anything.

“Yeah, well. I remember that kinda the point. Just because I was an asshole, and left the only good thing I ever had, doesn't mean shit. I wanted you to have a home, with Yev, because regardless of what I did when my head was all jumbled doesn't make you or that boy any less family and even if we're never together again, you gave me a home once, and I wanted to give you one. A home that didn't hold all the fucked up Terry memories. Or even the memories of all the fucked up shit I put you through there. So here it is. If you want it.” Ian says and he barely gets the words out before Mickey is standing in front of him, pulling him into a kiss. The kiss doesn't last long, and it doesn't really need to, it's a thank you from Mickey.

The door swings open and the boys jump apart like they're teenagers getting caught for the first time, looking away. Mandy quirks her eyebrow at them and just shakes her head as Yev looks into the room finding his father and runs up to him.

“Daddy!” The boy screams, happy tears streaming down his face. “The mean guys said you died. I told them they were lying.” And Mickey chuckles imagining his son looking the officers in the face and calling them liars.

“Daddy's here buddy.” He says stroking the kids head and taking him over to the couch.

“What's going on in here?” Mandy whispers to Ian who shakes his head.

“Nothing. Nothing. I'm gonna go walk around.” He says and she nods.

\--

“Where'd Ian go?” Yev says looking around the room after a while. “He didn't go away again, right? He promised.” He says and Mickey eyes his son, the sad, worried eyes.

“What do you mean bud?”

“He said after last time, he'd never leave me again. He promised.” The boy squirms.

“He didn't leave Yevvy. He went outside. I'll show you.” Mandy says taking his hand and leading him to the door. She points to the red-headed man who is laying on top of the car with his eyes closed.

“Is he okay? Did the mean man upset him again?” This time Yev looks over to where his mother is standing and Mickey watches as Lana quickly casts a glance at Mickey and then back to her son.

“No baby. Ian is okay. You wanna go out a check on him? I'm sure he'd love that, you know you always make him feel better.” And the boy nods but looks at his dad.

“Is that okay daddy? I'll come right back, I promise.” He says and Mickey knows that his son wants to make sure he doesn't think he's choosing Ian.

“Go ahead, buddy.”

\--

“What did he mean? Ian promised and who upset him?” Mickey asks once the boy is bounding into the yard.

  
“Ask him yourself,” Lana says. “I'm not getting in the middle of a lovers quarrel.”

“We aren't lovers anymore Lana.” He snaps at her.

“Really, and what was that we walked in on? A friendly game of capture the mouth?” She says and he groans.

\--

“Ian…” A small voice says beside Ian and Ian snaps up and looks down to see Yev, a worried look in his eyes.

“Hey, …what are you doing out here Yevvy?” He asks softly.

“Are…you…okay?” The boy says slowly.

“Of course. I got you here don't I?” Ian says looking into the boys' eyes as he hops off the car and leans down.

“Yeah, …are you mad? Is it because of daddy?” And Ian breaks a little more.

“Hey…hey. I'm not mad..just enjoying the sunshine. I am not mad at your daddy or you? Or anyone else okay?” The boy nods.

“What about the mean man?” Yev asks and the. Ian hears Mickey behind him.

“Yeah Ian, what about the mean man? Yev did the mean man hurt you?” Mickey asks, protective father stepping in.

“No. He was mean to Ian. Is he still mean to you, Ian?” And Mickey looks directly into Ian's eyes and Ian shakes his head.

“No buddy, I don't, don’t talk to him anymore. Do you remember what I told you?” Ian asks, trying to ignore the eyes on him.

“You said to never let anyone be mean to me. That nobody was worth feeling bad about yourself, and that friends are not supposed to be mean.”

“That's right buddy. Go in back inside. I'll be right in, I promise.” Ian says and Yev nods before holding out his arms for a hug which Ian happily gives him.

Mickey shifts side to side for a minute before he asks the question that Ian is dreading. “Who's the mean man?”

“Caleb. Mickey, I swear he was never mean to Yev. He wouldn't be fucking breathing of he was. He only met him once…” Ian trailed off because he really didn't want to talk about his ex. Or anything involving the man.

“What did he do to you then? Yev is obviously terrified that he hurt you.” Mickey says knowingly.

“He didn't. He was nice…for a while, normal, boring, I guess. We were fighting that day, it was a week before we…broke up…always arguing, I didn’t know Yev was there. He begged Lana to bring him by…he was worried about me, that I didn't come by very much anymore, and I'd promised him I'd never go away again. Not after…” Ian looks down and Mickey stares at him.

“After what?”

“I got sick…really sick about a year after you got locked up…and I had to go away for a while. I didn't want him to see me like that…but I was gone for a few months, lost my job, after that is when Caleb and I started falling apart slowly, hearing your boyfriend is bipolar and dealing with it when the meds just aren't doing it anymore…anyway, Yev came over and Caleb was yelling about how crazy I was.”

“He said that shit in front of my kid?” Mickey says the heat rising within him.

“He asked Lana how she could possibly let a little boy around me because I was unstable. She went off on him. I snapped after that. Yev was so upset, I had just gotten back, I had just…I was better, Lana was pissed, I was so afraid that she'd listen to him and never let me see him again, you know, no matter what happened with us, I love that kid, so much. What if…she didn't think I was capable of being around him, I couldn't blame her especially after me taking off with him.” Mickey watches as a tear slips down Ian's face.

“Hey…don't do that. You have shit taste in men, that's all. I couldn't handle the illness very well and that fuckhead can go die, for saying that shit. But your trying okay? You're stable, and fuck him.” And Ian chuckles.

“You handled my illness better than I did, I was just too much of a fuckhead to see it then. I love you, even if you take off and never come back when Colin gets your new identity set up, just know, I was so wrong. I did need you, I needed you to help me and fix me, I was so wrong. I was not okay. Not without you, not ever.”

“We both…we didn't know how to handle it, Ian. Me or you. We would have if I wouldn't have gotten locked up ya know? I think that we would have worked past it, even if it wasn't together. You mean too much to me. Even if we aren't together.” And Ian nods.

“Come on, let's go inside. My son is worried sick you'll disappear on him, and I've been gone. Let's show him that we are both here.”

\--

They spent the next few hours with Yev and the rest of the Milkoviches before everyone was practically passed out on the floor, and Yev and Lana

curled up on the couch. Mickey got up to go crash and Ian looked at him sleepily before laying his head back down.

“Come on,” Mickey says and Ian just looked up and eyes him. “Gallagher you have five seconds to get off that couch, or I'm gonna kick your ass.”

\--

Ian and Mickey sit on the bed in silence for a good twenty minutes, not saying anything. “Do you regret it?” Mickey finally asks.

“What?” Ian asks stuck in his own head, there were so many things he regretted.

“Bre…you know,” Mickey says not wanting to finish it. Or not being able to. What if Ian said no? What would he say then?

“For the most part, yes. So much, yes.” Ian says honestly.

“And the part that you don't regret?” Mickey says unable to hide the hurt.

“I don't regret wanting to set you free from me and my shit but I regret letting you go, I regret hurting you, hurting us. I hate myself, for doing that to us because when we were good, it was unlike anything in the entire world and even when it was bad, it was still full of love, I don’t know. I regret breaking up with you, yes. But that doesn't change what I am, that the things inside me, are still there, and you don't need that, especially now. You can start over. Be free of me. For real this time.”

“What if I don't want that Ian? Is this another thing that I have no say in?”

“No, you have all the say, Mickey. You tell me to leave, and never come back and I will. You tell me to stay, I'll do that. Whatever you say, it's all you.”

“And if I wanted you to run away with me? What would you say to that?”

“When do we leave?” Ian says simply.

And Mickey just smiles and shakes his head pulling Ian to him. He wasn't planning on running away, not really but he needed to know that Ian would. That if he wanted to Ian would follow him to the ends of the earth and he knew, in that house that Ian bought for them, that it would be okay somehow.


End file.
